


Winter Fair

by EllenMarieP



Series: Thomas Barrow Christmas Prompts [14]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Gen, Thomas and Daisy are friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:47:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28139418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllenMarieP/pseuds/EllenMarieP
Summary: Part 14 of the Christmas prompt challenge.Winter fair - Character A wants to drink mulled wine and eat mince pies and be merry. Character B wishes they were anywhere else.Daisy needs a chaperone to the winter fair.Short and sweet. Italics = Thoughts.
Series: Thomas Barrow Christmas Prompts [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030419
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22
Collections: A Very Thomas Barrow Christmas 2020





	Winter Fair

**Winter Fair**

If only he could’ve stayed in the servants' hall, sat in his favourite rocking chair where the cold could only come as far as the windowpane’s and the crackling fire kept him cosy warm. Instead, he’d had to endure a bus ride into Thirsk and was now wandering around dressed up like Nanook of the North because Mrs Patmore couldn’t possibly let Daisy go to the winter fair alone despite being a grown woman, and a feisty one at that. The kitchen maid in question was currently rocketing around the stalls at 100mph and positively bubbling with excitement, it was as if the cold meant nothing to her as she tried to catch a glimpse of every tiny little thing before they had to catch the bus back to Downton.

“Come on Mr Barrow! Keep up or you’ll miss things.”

“Oh, the horror! Honestly, Daisy, what’s here that you’ve never seen before?”

“It’s not about that, it’s about the atmosphere! Do you think Mrs Patmore would notice if I had some mulled wine? I’ve already had four mince pies.”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

Thomas watched as she visibly deflated before his eyes, her previous merriment fizzling out and he found himself feeling a little ashamed to have caused it. After all, his not wanting to be there wasn’t Daisy’s fault, it was Carson’s for deciding that he would be the one to join her instead of Alfred who actually wanted to.

‘ _It’s payback for making him look daft in front of Mrs Hughes. How is it my fault when he just assumes I haven’t done my job? It wouldn’t have killed him to check before trying to call me out. Now I’m stuck out here and I’ve gone and broken Daisy._ ’

Thomas let out a deep sigh, swallowed his Carson induced spite and held his arm out to Daisy.

“If I buy you a mulled wine and win you a prize on the games will you cheer up and let me go home?”

Just like magic, that seemed to do the trick as 45 minutes later (and several shillings lighter) they were on the bus with Daisy back to beaming like she’d swallowed the sun as she held on to her new Christmas bear.

Daisy was thinking about how she’d had such a wonderful time and how Mr Barrow could be so sweet and kind when he wanted to be.

Thomas was thinking about the fact that he was officially going soft.

‘ _Mr Bates is never going to let me hear the end of this._ ’


End file.
